Thomas Adams (10 September 1871 – 24 March 1940) was a pioneer of

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

. Born on Meadowhouse Farm near

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

dairy farmers Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history th ...

James and Margaret Adams, he was educated at Daniels Stewart's College in Edinburgh and was a farmer in his early years. Adams moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

where he worked as a journalist. He served as secretary to the

Garden City Association The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) is an independent research and campaigning charity founded and based in the United Kingdom. It works to enable homes, places and communities in which everyone can thrive. Through its research, tr ...

and was the first manager of

Letchworth, England Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249. Letchwort ...

, from 1903 to 1906. Adams became a designer of low-density residential developments that were commonly referred to as "garden suburbs." In 1909–1914, Adams worked as Town Planning Adviser to the Local Government Board. In 1914, he was invited to Canada to work for the Commission of Conservation to provide better housing for the growing population of industrial cities. After the

Halifax Explosion On the morning of 6 December 1917, the French cargo ship collided with the Norwegian vessel in the waters of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The ''Mont-Blanc'', laden with high explosives, caught fire and exploded, devastating the Richmond ...

in 1917, Adams designed

the Hydrostone Hydrostone is a neighbourhood in the North End of the Halifax Peninsula in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It consists of ten short parallel streets and is bordered by Duffus Street to the north, Young Street to the south, ...

section using Garden City principles. In the same year he published '' Rural planning and development: a study of rural conditions and problems in Canada,'' one of the earliest books to advocate the use of land use controls. He also designed a portion of

Corner Brook, Newfoundland Corner Brook ( 2021 population: 19,333 CA 29,762) is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Corner Brook is the fifth largest settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador. ...

. He worked with Halifax architect

Andrew R. Cobb Andrew Randall Cobb, ARCA, FRIBA (13 June 1876 – 2 June 1943) was a Canadian-American architect based in Nova Scotia. In his day, Cobb was one of the most renowned architects in Atlantic Canada. He is one of the first ''élèves'' of the � ...

on this project. On other projects in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and Nova Scotia he partnered with

Ross and Macdonald Ross and Macdonald was one of Canada's most notable architecture firms in the early 20th century. Based in Montreal, Quebec, the firm originally operated as a partnership between George Allen Ross and David MacFarlane (known as Ross and MacFar ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. He was later responsible for surveys and a plan for

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. From 1923 to 1930 he was a director of the Regional Plan of New York. The plan was published in 1929 and anticipated the region's basic transportation and infrastructure needs for the next 30 years. On returning to the United Kingdom, Thomas Adams became one of the early presidents of the Institute of Landscape Architects (ILA) which became the

Landscape Institute The Landscape Institute (LI) is a UK based professional body for the landscape profession. Its membership includes landscape architects, urban designers, landscape planners, landscape scientists and landscape managers. The LI also has a catego ...

. In 1932, he was asked by

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

architect William Emerson to design a city planning curriculum for the university. His son, Frederick Adams, was nominated by Emerson to be the first department head of City Planning at the MIT and was named a "Pioneer Planner" by the

American Institute of Certified Planners The American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) is the American Planning Association's professional institute. AICP certifies professionals in the United States in the field of town planning and assists planners in the areas of ethics, profess ...

.Adams and the UK Landscape Institute
/ref> Towards the end of his life, Adams served as a visiting lecturer in his son's new department. He took an active role in creating planning institutions in Great Britain, Canada and the United States.

References

External links

Atlantic Planner's Article on the Hydrostone
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Thomas British urban planners Canadian urban planners American urban planners 1871 births 1940 deaths People educated at Stewart's Melville College Presidents of the Royal Town Planning Institute

See also

References

Further reading

External links